Scientists often get so engrossed in the day-to-day and month-to-month activities of their research programs and professional endeavors that they fail to record and interpret the chronology of events that lead to great scientific discoveries and advances in using science for the benefit of humankind.

Iowa State University, through the sponsorship of the Departments of Agronomy, Botany, Forestry, Horticulture, and Plant Pathology, presents an annual Plant Science Lecture Series, which provides the opportunity for outstanding scholars to share their knowledge and expertise in an atmosphere of intellectual camaraderie.

Historical Perspectives in Plant Science is a compilation of the 1991 lectures presented for the series and provides a unique look at plant science history via anecdotes and personal knowledge about research failures and successes, cooperation and competition among scientists, and the interplay of discoveries in the several disciplines encompassed by the field of plant science.

It provides a benchmark, as of 1991, for the history of plant science as seen, experienced, and interpreted by eight scholars who played significant roles in "making plant science history." The areas of research covered range from a general overview of plant science to the development of the history of plant physiology, plant pathology, quantitative genetics, and cytogenetics to molecular biology to the history of plant breeding methodology and accomplishments.